The position of Quality in the overall company strategy isn’t always clear. Yes, most companies claim that quality is their number one priority. This makes sense, as you can only deliver real value if you provide…
Nick Appel01/09/2020
The several different ISO standards can be great guidance when adding structure to an organization. However, the standard shouldn’t be the starting point for an organization when setting up any kind of management system. When you…
Nick Appel20/05/2020
Working from home can become quite tiresome and repetitive but it also holds some great opportunities for you as a Quality Manager. Normally you are running around with little time left to make fundamental improvements. We…
Nick Appel27/03/2020
Quality Management isn’t a one (wo)man show. Most of you Quality Managers know this is true, but within a significant number of companies, this is still the default. Phrases like “John is the Quality Manager, he…
Nick Appel24/02/2020
This week we organized a great workshop together with the Team of Brown Paper Audit. They introduced their refreshing point of view to audits. Rather than the one-on-one talks with people in the company, they recommend…
Nick Appel06/02/2020
Previously we touched upon whether or not a certificate is worth it. This post led to quite some discussion, with strong opinions from both sides. However, looking at Quality Management in general you can ask the…
Nick Appel17/01/2020
There have been thousands of articles written about Quality 4.0 in various contexts and for various industries. Some claim that you should gather information, make the SOP digital available and train employees via e-learning. Yes, you…
Nick Appel01/10/2019
Quality Management is regularly seen as a cost center. The organization may have the feeling they need to shell out a significant amount of money to set up a Quality Management System and get it off…
Nick Appel17/09/2019
Everybody in Quality knows that having a functioning Quality Management System will reduce costs. Maybe not the next day, but in the long haul it will make the company money if it is functioning properly—and this…
Nick Appel26/08/2019
Last week part of the roof of a big soccer stadium in Holland collapsed due to a heavy storm. Luckily no one was injured because there was no game at the time. The media storm that…
Nick Appel14/08/2019
Data consistency might not have anything to do with quality management. However, because quality management is getting more and more data-driven it is becoming increasingly important. Consistent data allows for easier and better analysis, which leads…
Nick Appel20/06/2019
According to the standard, all staff that work under your organization's control are competent, and the evidence of this is documented accordingly. As with much of the ISO language, competence is left for each organization to…
Nick Appel13/06/2019
Quality objectives are measurable goals and the base of long-term quality improvement planning. After setting a target, simply hoping that changes occur to achieve the goal is not an effective way to improve a QMS. You…
Nick Appel06/06/2019
Yes, it might seem enticing, all your QMS information into your ERP. We can have all the information in one system, this will make it much easier for the employees. But is it really that simple?…
Nick Appel25/04/2019
We have talked quite extensively about the importance of a good safety culture. It is essential to keep people safe at work and make sure everybody goes home healthy at the end of the day. However,…
Nick Appel12/04/2019
Quality management is a key target for digital transformation, and while adoption of quality systems is growing, it's important to address IT concerns before you make your final decision. If you're considering to invest in a…
Nick Appel05/04/2019
Boeing is facing big challenges these days. You bring a new product to the market and suddenly this seems to be the cause of several flight accidents. Since then, all the airplanes are grounded and the…
Nick Appel29/03/2019
The 7 basic tools of quality (or 7 QC Tools) were conceptualized for the first time by Kaoru Ishikawa, a professor of engineering at the University of Tokyo. They are a set of relativity simple data…
Nick Appel15/03/2019
Considering a quality management platform for your organization? You're not alone. Selecting the one that fits your company isn’t easy. Which features are needed to support your processes? How complex does it need to be? Is…
Nick Appel08/03/2019
It remains a bottleneck for many companies—do we opt for a quality management system or do we prefer one of the many alternatives? All solutions have their strengths, but they aren’t always the right solution to…
Nick Appel26/02/2019